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warm

American  
[wawrm] / wɔrm /

adjective

  • warmer,
    comparative
  • warmest
    superlative
  1. having or giving out a moderate degree of heat, as perceived by the senses.

    a warm bath.

    Synonyms:
    heated, tepid, lukewarm
    Antonyms:
    cool
  2. of or at a moderately high temperature; characterized by comparatively high temperature.

    a warm oven; a warm climate; a warm summer.

    Antonyms:
    cool
  3. having a sensation of bodily heat.

    to be warm from fast walking.

    Antonyms:
    cool
  4. conserving or maintaining warmth or heat.

    warm clothes.

  5. (of colors) suggestive of warmth; inclining toward red or orange rather than toward green or blue.

  6. characterized by or showing lively feelings, passions, emotions, sympathies, etc..

    a warm heart; warm interest.

    Synonyms:
    ardent, emotional, fervid, fervent, enthusiastic, hearty
  7. strongly attached; intimate.

    warm friends.

    Synonyms:
    close, friendly
  8. cordial or hearty.

    a warm welcome.

    Synonyms:
    fervent
    Antonyms:
    aloof, unfriendly
  9. heated, irritated, or angry.

    to become warm when contradicted.

    Synonyms:
    furious, irate, vexed, annoyed
  10. animated, lively, brisk, or vigorous.

    a warm debate.

    Synonyms:
    vehement
    Antonyms:
    boring, lethargic
  11. strong or fresh.

    a warm scent.

  12. close to something sought, as in a game.

  13. uncomfortable or unpleasant.

    His opponents made things so warm that he decided to quit.

  14. British Informal. well off; in easy circumstances.


verb (used with object)

  • warms,
    present (3rd person singular)
  • warmed,
    past participle,  past
  • warming
    present participle
  1. to make warm; heat (often followed byup ).

    to warm one's hands; to warm up a room.

  2. to heat or cook (something) for reuse, as leftovers (usually followed by over orup ).

    to warm up yesterday's stew.

  3. to excite enthusiasm, ardor, cheerfulness, or vitality in (someone).

    The wine soon warmed the company.

    Synonyms:
    arouse, rouse, stir, waken, excite, animate
  4. to inspire with kindly feeling; affect with lively pleasure.

    It warms my soul to hear you say that.

  5. to fill (a person, crowd, etc.) with strong feelings, as hatred, anger, or zeal.

    Restrictions had warmed the crew to the point of mutiny.

verb (used without object)

  • warms,
    present (3rd person singular)
  • warmed,
    past participle,  past
  • warming
    present participle
  1. to become warm or warmer (often followed byup ).

    The room will warm up when the fire gets going.

  2. to become ardent, enthusiastic, animated, etc. (often followed by up orto ).

    The speaker quickly warmed to her subject.

  3. to grow kindly, friendly, or sympathetically disposed (often followed by to ortoward ).

    My heart warms toward him.

noun

  1. Informal. a warming.

    Sit by the fire and have a nice warm.

verb phrase

  1. warm down. see warm-down.

  2. warm up. see warmup.

idioms

  1. warm the bench, to serve as a substitute who rarely plays in a game.

    The young outfielder warmed the bench for the Yankees last season.

warm British  
/ wɔːm /

adjective

  1. characterized by or having a moderate degree of heat; moderately hot

  2. maintaining or imparting heat

    a warm coat

  3. having or showing ready affection, kindliness, etc

    a warm personality

  4. lively, vigorous, or passionate

    a warm debate

  5. cordial or enthusiastic; ardent

    warm support

  6. quickly or easily aroused

    a warm temper

  7. (of colours) predominantly red or yellow in tone

  8. (of a scent, trail, etc) recently made; strong

  9. near to finding a hidden object or discovering or guessing facts, as in children's games

  10. informal uncomfortable or disagreeable, esp because of the proximity of danger

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (sometimes foll by up) to raise or be raised in temperature; make or become warm or warmer

  2. to make or become excited, enthusiastic, etc (about)

    he warmed to the idea of buying a new car

  3. to feel affection, kindness, etc (for someone)

    I warmed to her mother from the start

  4. (tr) to give a caning to

    I'll warm you in a minute

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. informal a warm place or area

    come into the warm

  2. informal the act or an instance of warming or being warmed

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
warm More Idioms  

    More idioms and phrases containing warm


Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of warm

First recorded before 900; Middle English adjective werm, warm, wearm(e), Old English wearm; cognate with German warm, Old Norse varmr; akin to Latin formus “warm,” Greek thermós “warm,” Sanskrit gharmá- “heat,” Avestan garəma “hot,” Old Prussian gorme “heat,” Armenian ǰerm “warm”; the verb is akin to the adjective; the noun is derivative of the verb

Vocabulary lists containing warm

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

If anything, it is making ENSO’s variability “kind of lopsided,” Cole said, meaning that the change in variability leans toward stronger warm events than cold ones.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 4, 2026

Farmers are gearing up for the harvest season, and large parts of the Northeast are less than a month away from burning heating oil to stay warm.

From The Wall Street Journal Sep. 4, 2026

The swings between warm and cold conditions that define El Niño “were much stronger in the last 40 to 50 years than they were prior to warming.”

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 4, 2026

However, 2006-07 was also an El Niño winter and that was unseasonably warm.

From BBC Sep. 3, 2026

My face gets warm and my heart is racing.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

El Niño’s strength is primarily measured by how much warmer the sea surface temperature in the tropical Pacific region is than normal.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 4, 2026

What's more, the sea surface temperature anomaly -- how much warmer the ocean is compared to average -- is already near record high, right in the middle of the Pacific hurricane season, Kirtman explained.

From Barron's Sep. 2, 2026

A few warmer days are still possible in the south and east, although there is potential for a wetter and windier spell more widely from midweek onwards.

From BBC Sep. 2, 2026

Research has found that temperatures only slightly above freezing can be more effective than warmer conditions for assembling complex chains of amino acids.

From Science Daily Sep. 2, 2026

For when the maple sap began to run it meant that warmer days, pleasant sun, all the beauties of spring were close at hand.

From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich

Just a few days ago, sea surface temperatures hit the warmest level ever recorded.

From Salon Aug. 28, 2026

Late summer and early fall bring the warmest temperatures of the year, he said.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 15, 2026

July 2026 was the joint second warmest July globally on record – 1.47C above the pre-industrial average.

From BBC Aug. 10, 2026

As a result, scientists expect 2027 to become the warmest year on record globally, while 2026 is expected to become the second-warmest.

From Barron's Aug. 10, 2026

His eyes are the warmest shade of brown I’ve ever seen.

From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day

It cannot be seen, and is becoming increasingly common as the climate warms.

From BBC Sep. 5, 2026

They will become more challenging as the climate warms, scientists say, adding heat to a planet where some extreme-weather events are already intensifying.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 29, 2026

Research has shown that roughly half the decline in the river’s flow is because of higher temperatures, and for each 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit the region warms, the flow is likely to decrease about 9%.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 18, 2026

If the world warms by 3C, elderly people in the worst-affected regions -- south Asia and the Gulf -- could face dangerous heat day-and-night for three straight months a year, according to the study.

From Barron's Aug. 17, 2026

The Sun warms us and feeds us and permits us to see.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

"The climate system has significantly warmed over the last 20 years or so," said Benjamin Kirtman, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Miami.

From Barron's Sep. 2, 2026

More recently, inflation has warmed up again, amid Middle East tensions and higher oil and gas prices.

From MarketWatch Aug. 28, 2026

Svitolina added: “When we warmed up this morning, I told my coach it would be amazing if we can win just a few games.”

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 26, 2026

He then warmed up with the wider group as Elton John's iconic hit I'm Still Standing played over the public address system.

From BBC Aug. 4, 2026

Back at the Siren’s Cove, they warmed themselves in front of the fire and Auntie North brought out tea and treats.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Flash flooding in Arizona recently swept through the Grand Canyon, killing at least two people, a weather event that was exacerbated by wildfire scarring, drought and warming temperatures in the Pacific Ocean.

From Salon Sep. 5, 2026

However, with the high-altitude regions of the Himalayas warming 50% faster than the global average, they face greater environmental risks.

From BBC Sep. 4, 2026

Climate warming is only one of the pressures plants and animals now face.

From Science Daily Sep. 4, 2026

El Niños are periods of temporary warming in the tropical Pacific that develop every two to seven years.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 4, 2026

Unafraid of the girls, One Horn stepped out onto the path and stood alert in the early light, basking a little, warming his coat.

From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich

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